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Opinion


BY JOHN FITZGERALD Matt the Miller is one of Kilkenny’s best known benign ghosts Tradition has it that Matt’s mill was situated on the River Nore in the shadow of John’s Bridge. Tired of grinding corn, he experimented with home brew. He kept the best of the barley that arrived at his mill to use …

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COMMENT Mediation must be impartial By MARIANNE HERON An Israeli father spoke bitterly of his five- year- old child, slain in the attack by Hamas when 1,400 were murdered. He was glad that she was dead rather than among the 200 people taken hostage and facing possible torture by Hamas. ”How could anyone do that …

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BY JOHN FITZGERALD For almost three decades, the John Locke Inn on Callan’s Green Street achieved notoriety as one of the most haunted houses in Ireland. A number of ghosts, demons, and poltergeists appear to have taken a shine to it. From at least the early sixties, people calling to, or residing in, the building, …

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FURTHERMORE  By Gerry Moran So, while the Irish were battling bedbugs and the All Blacks in Paris yours truly was battling the ‘invisible enemy’ in the tourist resort of Nerja in Southern Spain. Nerja, population 25,000, is a charming little town about 30 miles from Malaga. My wife and I visited Nerja about 25 years …

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BY JOHN ELLIS, FINANCIAL ADVISOR Retirement is no longer seen as the end of a productive life but the start of something new. In this era of extended life expectancy and a desire for active, self-defined retirements, it’s crucial to prepare for this new chapter of life. Today’s retirees could enjoy two to three decades …

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BY CLAIR WHITTY Do you fancy a cup of herbal tea? I talked about Hawthorn tea recently. I am drinking it to support my heart health. It tastes ok, I don’t think you can say that all herbal tea is nice, but they are a great addition to your daily diet. Hawthorn tea is an …

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AS I SEE IT MARIANNE HERON It was all very well when you had the 10 Commandments. You knew where you were with the ‘shalt nots’. But today it’s hard not to get caught up in a see-saw between wanting the things you might enjoy in life – like eating steak or taking a holiday …

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THE FACT OF THE MATTER BY PAUL HOPKINS It hasn’t gone away, you know – the housing crisis. Nor is it likely to any time soon. Surely, in the name of all that is sacred, to put a roof over each of our five million plus people – without breaking the bank – should not …

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AS I SEE IT MARIANNE HERON Isn’t it time we dusted off the mothballs from our ideas about what it means to be older?  A time too to appreciate the contribution of older people from President Michael D (82) and Mary Robinson (79), founder of Climate Justice, and on to the senior generations all around …

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BY CLAIR WHITTY October is menopause awareness month and it’s great to see that there is so much conversation about it. I love that men are talking about it now too. In the past year I have spoken to more men about it than I have in the past twenty. They are trying to understand …

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